Merror
Merror is a veteran Toa of Fire, leader of the Toa Astha. Biography As a younger Toa, Merror was the leader of a Toa Team that arrived on Mata Nui not long after the disappearance of the First Toa. Unable to remember where they had come from or how they had got to the island, but fully remembering their friendship and purpose, they pledged themselves to protect the people of this new land. They were very public in their resistance to and condemnation of Makuta. It wasn't long before they got themselves noticed. One day, Merror and his team fell into a trap set by Makuta's forces. Before they even knew what was happening, they had been incapacitated and captured. Their captors devised for each of them a unique and horrific punishment. Merror's was by far the worst; he was made to watch, as his teammates, his friends, were tortured and killed before his eyes. And then - the worst part - he was released, condemned to forever live with the memory of their deaths. His captors had intended it to destroy him. It did not. While he was forever plagued by the guilt of his mistakes, it strengthened his determination to defend the innocent; to never again let people suffer as his teammates had suffered. For many years, he worked alone, travelling the island and combating darkness wherever he found it, and his incorruptibility of spirit has inspired many, and even changed lives. During this time he fought in several battles, including one in which he (apparently) saved Jaller's life. He is something of an unsung hero, though he is known to many of the island's leaders (Jaller and Kongu are notable examples) as a capable warrior and man of integrity. He met the Matoran Korero in Ta-Koro at one point, when the latter was working on the Wall of History. Merror was heavily involved in the events surrounding the assassination of the Chronicler's Company. He tried in vain to save Tamaru, even leaping out of the Le-Koro trees from a great height to catch the Matoran as he fell, and personally carried his body into Le-Koro. He then, with several other Toa, pursued the killers to Po-Koro where they again engaged Vidar, Ronkshou and Echelon and their allies but were too late to save Hafu. He made many friends and allies during these events, some of whom went on to become members of the Toa Astha.  After Hafu's assassination, Merror disappeared for two months; he had engaged Echelon as he fled, eventually managing to freeze him in an ice cave in Ko-Wahi. Returning from this, he had encountered a Skapoka (a dangerous Rahi from the Kumu Islets). While he eventually slew the beast, its venom rendered him comatose. When he recovered (mysteriously healed by beings unknown) he worked himself back to strength before returning to society. On doing so, he met a newly-transformed Toa Joske Nimil in Ga-Koro. He attempted to help Joske come to terms with his new stature, but Nimil was already swamped with well-wishers and, uncomfortable under the pressure, fled to the house of the healer Cael. Merror followed him there, and when the young Toa responded with anger, allowed him to take out his emotions on him, almost melting the veteran's armour. On leaving Joske in Agni's capable hands, he met some of his old allies quite by chance: Pirok, Skyra and Weta. They, along with a bard named Skeldan, helped him to overcome his guilt over his past and misgivings about working with others, and together with Elianne, formed a new Toa Team: the Astha.  Since then, Merror fought injustice with renewed vigour - but life is never easy for the leader of a Toa Team. The disappearance of half of his team, along with the near-mortal wounding and subsequent gender-switching of Skyra, witnessing the climax of the Mark Bearer incident, and learning of the murder of the Turaga, put Merror under considerable stress; he had barely slept for weeks. Realising this, Skyra and Skeldan persuaded him to take a rest, and he reluctantly agreed. He travelled to the Massif, where he was given a room at the monastery and lived frugally. It was during his stay there that Makuta's fall took place, and soon two other Toa arrived at the village: none other than Joske and Cael. After about a month's solitude, Merror visited the couple and they agreed to travel together. Meeting and joining with others (Agni, Dorian and Tuara), they began to travel the island in search of a personal enemy to many of them: the Dark Toa Echelon, from whom they hoped to free Utu, as Joske believed he could be redeemed. Along the way, Merror grew attached to them, even to the (in his opinion) highly deviant Dorian, whom he frequently criticised. They eventually tracked Echelon to an abandoned mine in Le-Wahi. While staying in Le-Koro to prepare, Merror met Korero for a second time, now the Toa Maru of Air. The two trained together the following morning, and Merror was impressed by how quickly Korero was able to learn new techniques (thanks to his near-eidetic memory). He also saw a little of his younger self in the Toa of Air, and gave him what mentoring he could in the short time available. He and Joske's team then departed to the mine, where they confronted the Dark Toa and his Legacy allies. When the fight began to go in Joske's team's favour, Echelon activated his failsafe plan, detonating hidden explosives and collapsing much of the alread-unstable cave. Merror was half-buried in rubble, and on regaining consciousness, found that his mask had been knocked off and was out of reach. Fortunately for the Toa, the Matoran calling himself Aerus found him and retrieved his Kanohi, giving him the strength to escape the scree that had fallen on him. They returned to Le-Koro, where they found the rest of the group. Appearance and Tools Merror is of a little over average height for a Toa. He is toned and athletic in physique, possessing both strength and agility. His armour's base colour is mid-to-dark red, with a little black; his shoulder-plates, greaves, upper breastplate and other highlights are in silver. His armour is comprehensive but not overly bulky, and built for a combination of durability and flexibility.  His mask is very similar to the canon Jaller Inika's in shape; it is handsome and noble (not in the Kanohi sense), with a strong jaw. His eyes are a light lime-green, and though they still burn brightly, they are visibly careworn. He wields twin swords of polished metal. They are curved slightly, similar to a katana or cutlass, and are unusual in that the outer blade actually extends down over the hilt all the way to the pommel, protecting the wielder's hand. Merror keeps these in crossed sheaths on his back. Abilities and Traits Merror's fighting style is a blend of several forms of martial arts; his focus is on hand-to-hand combat, mainly with either his twin swords or unarmed. He is highly skilled in both these forms of combat, possessing strength, speed, agility and dexterity, and the use of his mask takes this to a whole new level, making him formidable in close combat. He is not unskilled with his element, but most of his fine-tuned capabilities lie in fine-tuned non-combat applications (such as cauterising wounds or providing gentle warmth) and when he does use it in combat he is not capable of the feats of elemental energy demonstrated by more practised Toa. This means he is relatively ineffective at long range. He is also vulnerable to the usual weaknesses of Fire Toa: water, ice, etc. Merror is a very moral, honourable and compassionate individual. He has many heroic qualities (though normally his modesty prevents him from admitting them); he is selfless, kind - and even in his formidable righteous anger, he is merciful to his enemies. Merror is an inspirational speaker and a natural leader, as shown when he spoke at Turaga Matau's funeral, and is never afraid to confront those who go against his code of morality. Merror has been around for a long time, seen a lot of things, and his wisdom and experience are valued by many, though his strong idealism has been known to grate. However, beneath this noble appearance, Merror is plagued by grief and survivor's guilt. He blames himself for every innocent that he has 'failed to save' from death; suffering's uncanny tendency to follow him around led him to develop something of a 'doom magnet' complex; he believed for a long time that he was a danger to anyone near him and refused to work with other for long periods of time, as he didn't want to 'put them in danger'. However, with the help of the Toa who later became the Astha, he has mostly overcome this guilt complex. He has a strict belief in the ideals of the Toa Code. Relationships Friends and Allies *The six Koro *His fellow Toa Astha *Joske Nimil *Jaller *Kongu *Stralix *Cael *Agni *Dorian *Tuara *Ramanox *JL *Sisk Enemies *Makuta *Echelon *Vidar *Zadron *The Shadow *The Dreamer Quotes "My punishment was by far the worst: they did nothing to me. I watched them die. My friends, my brothers, every one of them died before my eyes because of my mistake. And then, the worst part. They let me go." - Merror "Out of all of us, you are the best suited, you have the most experience. You are not only the best choice, but you are really the only choice." - Skeldan, on Merror's leadership Trivia * Category:Characters Category:Toa Category:Toa Astha Category:Ta-Toa